Two days in Budapest

 

We had two days in Budapest.  It was our last stop on the river cruise.  We spent the morning on a city excursion with Emerald and then explored on our own in the afternoon.  That night we spent onboard the Emerald Star and finished the cruise the next morning when we moved to a hotel for the night.

We had been looking forward to seeing Budapest since we booked this trip and it didn't disappoint. This Hungarian city is known for it's rich history and a mixture of medieval architecture on the Buda side  and bustling energy of the Pest side.  Budapest lived up to every expectation we had.

Our guide for the excursion was Andras.  He was a great guide, very knowledgeable and he kept us laughing.  We started with a bus tour around Budapest to see  the main sights, most of which we would circle back to on our own.

We made a "tasting" stop at a local restaurant to taste some local savory pastries along with local wine. In spite of it being 10 in the morning and a little early for the people in our group to be consuming wine, the location was very cool. The restaurant was in the cellar of an old building.  The walls were made of stone and brick and the ceilings were curved. There was live music from a violinist and a bass player.

At our last stop, which was at a local market, Son #1 unfortunately missed a step coming off the bus and fell and injured his leg. It didn't appear to be anything more that a bruise or a strain, but it would put a bit of a damper on the remainder of the trip as he was limping around for the next few days.

After lunch we went back out to explore on our own.  We ended up getting tickets to the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus for two days so that we could also  use it the following day.  Over the remainder of the day and the following day, we went back to visit some of the sites we had seen with Andras, as well as explore some new sites.  We only had two days, so sadly we couldn't explore everything so we had to pick and choose what we would spend our time on.

St. Stephen's Basilica

St. Stephen's Basilica is the largest Church in Budapest and, along with the Parliament Building, is the tallest in the country. It was built in 1851-1906 and is named for Stephen - Hungary's first king, whose right hand is housed in reliquary.

Normally one would need a ticket to enter, but as it was a public holiday it was free entry.

Parliment Building

This building seems to dominate the Pest side of the Danube River.  It is an impressive building, sitting at 96 meters tall (the tallest building in the country) and commands attention whenever one passes by.  While it looks like an ancient Gothic structure, it was only completed in 1904.  In order to enter, a must book a guided tour, which we didn't have time for, but taking in the beauty of the building on the outside was awe inspiring on its own.

Dohany Street Synagogue

We made a stop to visit the synagogue while riding the hop on hop off bus. Built in 1859, the synagogue seats over 3,000 people making it one of the largest synagogues in Europe.  The Jewish quarter, where the synagogue is located, holds deep historical significance related to the Holocaust. Dohany Street marks the border of the ghetto during World War II. The area that was planned as a garden is now the burial site of more than 2500 Jewish people who perished during the Hollocaust.

We weren't able to spend any time inside as we didn't have the time, but we enjoyed  the outside facade with the beautiful windows and the matching towers. We were able to view the cemetary and garden from outside the fence.

Buda Castle District

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion was built in 1895 and looks like it could be featured in a Walt Disney fairytale movie. It was built for the panorama. The 7 turrets represent the 7 Hungarian tribes that founded Budapest.

The views, not to mention the magical photos of the structure, are breathtaking.

St. Matias Church

Photo by Kiran Brahma on Unsplash

This church is located next to Fisherman's Bastion but is quite a bit older.  It was in this 700 year-old church that the Hungarian King Matthias was married - on two separate occasions. The original building was built in the 11th century, before this one replaced it in the 14th century.

Buda Castle

Photo by Nemanja Ćirić on Unsplash

Buda Castle was built in 1241 as a fortress that would protect the city of Buda. The original castle, a medieval masterpiece, was perched high on the hill above the city. It would protect against future invasions.  Over the years, the castle saw good times, and bad, with expansions, makeovers, and periods of decline. On more than one occasion the castle was destroyed and rebuilt. During World War II it had, once again, suffered severe damage - much like much of Hungary.  Since then, Hungary has rebuilt, and reconstructed this national treasure.

Buda Castle was once the home of Hungarian Kings, but now houses the National Gallery, the History Museum and the National Library.

Vajdahunyad Castle and City Park

Vajdahunyad Castle is a stunning structure that lies within City Park.  It is another architectural masterpiece that looks much older than its age of  130 years.  It was originally built in 1896 for the Millennial Exhibition and made from cardboard and wood to showcase the many different architectural styles of Hungarian history.  It was so popular that they decided to make it from from stone and brick, and now houses the Museum of Agriculture.

It's a charming park with the castle surrounded by a scenic lake.  The lake becomes Europe's largest outdoor skating rink in the winter months.